Update: The Virginia Flaggers never fail to disappoint. Their response to this story is oh so predictable. And they wonder why no one takes them seriously.

In his convocation address yesterday at Washington & Lee University, President Ken Ruscio reflected on his decision to remove Confederate flags from inside Lee Chapel. At one point Ruscio shared a letter he received from an Alumnus of the Class of 1949. Continue reading →

I have absolutely no problem with students and alumni at Washington & Lee University expressing disagreement with the school’s decision regarding the display of Confederate flags in Lee Chapel. After all, it’s their school. I expressed concerns about the Committee’s list of demands early on so I am certainly sympathetic to both sides. But there is something disturbing about the two alumni letters published in the most recent issue of the school’s magazine, both of who graduated during the civil rights era.

Both letters frame this dispute as if the black law students who made their concerns public don’t really belong at the school.

Only the Committee threatens students and the University should they not buckle down to embrace the Committee’s terms.

I am sorry but this group of students cannot threaten the student body because they are a part of it. It is their school. It is their right as students to voice their concerns when they perceive an injustice or other problem that deserves attention. And if “the concerns of these students should [not] be taken seriously” than whose should be taken seriously and under what conditions? Continue reading →

Update #2: Here is the latest. The university issued the following statement: “According to our Office of Public Safety, our officers reported four occasions when they interacted with individuals who were participating in the July 26 rally sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in downtown Lexington. The officers characterized all of these interactions as respectful. They did not record names or ages of any of the individuals.”

Update: Local news is looking into this incident and supposedly talked to the child in question. I leave it to you to decide whether the voice on the tape sounds like a 15-year old. Even if it is we still have no names, no faces… basically no real evidence.

Southern heritage advocates such as the Virginia Flaggers and Sons of Confederate Veterans love to talk about and claim to live by a Southern code of honor that I assume includes integrity and honesty. Yesterday a post appeared on the Facebook page of the Virginia Flaggers accusing “the Police” of harassing a 15-year old boy who merely wanted to visit the Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University. It has since appeared on a number of websites. Continue reading →

Yes, the people who gathered in Lexington, Virginia are incensed about the removal of replica Confederate flags from Lee Chapel. They view it as a threat to their preferred narrative of the history of the Confederacy and the symbolism of the flag both during and after the war. The fact that the replicas will be replaced by original flags appears to have been lost by just about everyone. It suggests to me that this is not entirely about the removal of flags, but about who instigated it. Continue reading →

Looks like somewhere around 250 to 300 people showed up today in Lexington, Virginia with their replica Confederate flags to voice their frustration with the recent decision by administrators at W&L University to remove other replica Confederate flags from Lee Chapel. No surprise that this crowd appears oblivious to the fact that the university will soon display authentic Confederate battle flags inside the chapel.

Even though they will not be displayed around the Recumbent Lee memorial for preservation purposes, I still do not see how this can be perceived as anything other than a drastic improvement.

Today’s rally, like previous rallies in Lexington organized by the SCV, will achieve nothing.